GPU Overheats no matter what!

[Giggla76]

I have a GTX 970 actually two of these one is fine however the other one is not. The card overheats even after applying new TIM twice. When I get into windows the temperature starts to climb at idle all the way to 105c then shuts down the pc. Appreciate any advice.

 

[Beastie]

Which make and model is the 970 which has the problem?

Are the fan (s) spinning?

If you are monitoring the card what activity does it show?

Also if you fill in your system specs it will make it easier for people to give accurate advice.

 

[Giggla76]

Gigabyte G1 Gaming gtx 970. All fans are spinning.

 

[Beastie]

It sounds like there is not a good thermal bond to the heatsink. Which might be the result of a problem with mounting the heatsink, or not enough/too much thermal paste.

There are a number of other possibilities such as dust on the heatsink, fans not going fast enough, some process overusing the card, lack of case ventilation, positioning with another card in SLI blocking airflow, etc. The more info you provide the easier it will be to narrow it down.

 

[Giggla76]

The heatsink has a good bond when I reapplied it the second time it looked good (full coverage of the gpu). I also used the right amount of TIM paste. Case has good airflow. I had two AMD cards in the case for a long time. I used DDUninstaller to fully uninstall all drivers too. The only two things I can think of is to 1. install the card by itself. 2. Double check gpu load percentage in GPU-Z.
Although I don't remember seeing any kind of load put on the gpu in gpu-z when I last checked.

 

[64K]

If in SLI you could try swapping the two cards around and see if the temp is normal on the one that is currently overheating and too high on the other one that was fine on temp before. That would indicate an airflow issue.

If nothing works I believe that card comes with a 3 year warranty from Gigabyte so you should be able to RMA it if you have the receipt.

 

[natr0n]

swap the cards around maybe that one gets suffocated ?

 

[qubit]

Did the card overheat before you first removed the heatsink? If so, this could be a manufacturing fault. Also check the GPU voltage and clock speeds and compare it to the good card. Also, is it still under warranty?

Run MSI AfterBurner and check the fan speeds, especially compared to the good card. You might find that they're spinning too slow for whatever reason and hence the card overheats.

Good suggestion from @64K above. You can also try running one card at a time.

EDIT: Dang, three posts within the same minute!

 

[Giggla76]

Yeah the card overheated before I applied the tim paste twice. Guy I got if from said it has an overheating problem. I will try the card by itself without sli.

 

[newtekie1]

Gigabyte has problems with their heatsinks, I think they are using faulty heatpipes. Jayztwocents had issues with a RX 470 that was overheating at stock with a cooler that was huge and had no business overheating. Gigabyte quality is horrible, I'll never buy something from them.

You'll probably have to RMA the card, but good luck with that, their customer service is a joke too.

 

[Caring1]

Run GPU-z and see what the voltages are for that one card that overheats, if everything else appears to be alright, it might be overvolting causing excess heat.

 

[qubit]

Yeah the card overheated before I applied the tim paste twice. Guy I got if from said it has an overheating problem. I will try the card by itself without sli.

Ah, that explains it. You've bought it used and it clearly has a fault. Do try all the simple troubleshooting steps I suggested. By the end of it you'll have a lot more information to go on to find a solution to this problem, or at least understanding it.

I think the conclusion would be that it needs an RMA, but as NT said below, you might have a hard time with it. If it's the case, then I suggest cutting your losses, flogging both cards and get a decent single card like the GTX 1070 or GTX 1080.

Gigabyte has problems with their heatsink, I think they are using faulty heatpipe. Jayztwocents had issues with a RX 470 that was overheating at stock with a cooler that was huge and had no business overheating. Gigabyte quality is horrible, I'll never buy something from them.

You'll probably have to RMA the card, but good luck with that, their customer service is a joke too.

Oh NT, you're so depressing but this is so true! EVGA and MSI seem to be the best brands for graphics cards nowadays. I've got an excellent Palit at the moment, but I don't know how they compare overall to these other two.

 

[GhostRyder]

If its making any sort of contact with the GPU and still overheating its a fault in the heatsink which is an oddity. If your set on keeping them, try and replace the cooler altogether with a different one whether it be the same one or an aftermarket/different company one depending on the PCB. You could try one of the liquid cooler bracket sets for the card.

Either way that type of card should not overheat very easily so something is seriously wrong with that cooler.

 

[Giggla76]

I tried the card by itself and it started to overheat still.
I squezzed the card and heatsink together and the temps dropped way down :O hmm

 

[thebluebumblebee]

that card comes with a 3 year warranty from Gigabyte so you should be able to RMA it if you have the receipt.

A receipt is NOT needed. Warranty is 3 years from date of manufacturer or purchase, which would require a receipt.

 

[Beastie]

I squezzed the card and heatsink together and the temps dropped way down :O hmm

Sounds like there is a problem with the heatsink mounting, maybe it has been overtightened or maybe something was bent when it came from the factory.

If there is not good contact with the heatsink then it will overheat.

 

[GhostRyder]

I tried the card by itself and it started to overheat still.
I squezzed the card and heatsink together and the temps dropped way down :O hmm

There is your answer, poor contact. Somethign on that cooler is bent/damaged, once your find that you will have your solution.

 

[Giggla76]

I figured it out. I noticed one side was really loose if I pulled down on the heatsink. What happened is 2 of the screws where it screws down onto the gpu were stripped on the bottom end and they would not screw down.

I replaced the two screws with ones from an old graphics card now it idles 38c problem solved.

Thanks to all who took the time to post a reply. Yesterday was my birthday and getting the 2 970's working is really great. Thanks again all

 

[Giggla76]

BTW how are the gtx 970's @ Folding@home I know they are pretty efficient power wise.

Can they crunch like mad?

 

[slozomby]

BTW how are the gtx 970's @ Folding@home I know they are pretty efficient power wise.

Can they crunch like mad?

each card should put out about between 300 and 350 Kppd on average. assuming they have a full cpu core each to use.

 

[peche]

I figured it out. I noticed one side was really loose if I pulled down on the heatsink. What happened is 2 of the screws where it screws down onto the gpu were stripped on the bottom end and they would not screw down.

I replaced the two screws with ones from an old graphics card now it idles 38c problem solved.

Thanks to all who took the time to post a reply. Yesterday was my birthday and getting the 2 970's working is really great. Thanks again all

incredible but true, happened here in the office with an R7 370 of my fella.... is a weird issue, isn't?

Regards,

 

[Beastie]

I replaced the two screws with ones from an old graphics card now it idles 38c problem solved.

Thanks to all who took the time to post a reply. Yesterday was my birthday and getting the 2 970's working is really great. Thanks again all

Haha good news.

 

[mouacyk]

Just a general tip for everyone --- once mounted heatsink or block, turn card on its side in hands and shine a flashlight behind it to see if any light comes through in between block and die. Can also just hold it up to a window if room is dark enough.

Lucky I did this before powering on my water-blocked 980 ti for the first time. It felt lop-sided but I wasn't sure until I did the above and saw a thin band of light. Had to change screws to get a tighter bond.